Albritton is Softball Player of the Year Again, 2014 All-GSC Team is Named

Albritton is Softball Player of the Year Again, 2014 All-GSC Team is Named

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Birmingham, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference office has announced the 2014 All-GSC Softball Team and award winners and regular season winner Alabama Huntsville leads a diverse pack of 27 awardees.

UAH had a league-high eight student-athletes earn All-GSC honors, two being selected to the First Team. The Chargers were also represented in the individual awards with Tyler Harrison earning Freshman of the Year honors and Les Stuedeman winning the Coach of the Year Award.

Delta State and North Alabama each had five players selected for the team while five-time defending champion Valdosta State added four honorees. UNA and VSU each had a league-high four players selected to the First Team and both schools had players win individual honors with Hillary Carpenter grabbing Pitcher of the Year and Courtney Albritton nabbing her third consecutive Player of the Year award.

West Georgia and West Alabama each had two All-GSC selections while West Florida had one selection. Four players were unanimous selections. There were 11 seniors, six juniors, and five freshmen sophomores on this year’s squad. Eight of the seniors and four of the juniors were on the First Team with four sophomores and three seniors populating the Second Team.

Valdosta State’s Albritton Named Player of the Year

Valdosta State outfielder Courtney Albritton moved into select company by earning the Player of the Year award for the third consecutive season. The Sycamore, Ga. native joins Alabama Huntsville’s Stephanie Pinto as the only player to win three GSC Top Player nods and - like Pinto from 2004-06 – do it in her first three seasons. Albritton was named Player of the Week twice this season and also was named National Player of the Week once. She is in contention for the GSC Triple Crown, currently second in batting average (.445) and home runs (21) while fifth in runs batted in (51). She also set the school record and sits second in GSC history in career home runs (57). Albritton currently leads the league in hits (73), runs scored (66), and total bases (157). She also is among the league leaders in other major offensive statistics including slugging percentage (.957, 2nd), on-base percentage (.521, 3rd), and doubles (15, 3rd).

Alabama Huntsville’s Harrison Named Freshman of the Year

Alabama Huntsville’s Tyler Harrison earned Freshman of the Year honors, becoming the second straight UAH player to win top freshman honors and sixth overall. Harrison, from Mobile, Ala., has been an on-base machine for the Chargers. Her .385 batting average and .464 on-base percentage are both ninth in the GSC. She has scored 23 runs while hitting 11 doubles, two home runs and driving in 37. She also earned two victories in the circle for league-leading UAH.

North Alabama’s Carpenter Named Pitcher of the Year

North Alabama’s Hillary Carpenter earned Pitcher of the Year honors, becoming the first UNA pitcher to win the top pitcher award and the second consecutive freshman to win top pitching honors. Carpenter, from Hatton, Ala., twice won the GSC Pitcher of the Week award and paced the league from the circle all season. She is 17-4 with a save and a 1.95 earned run average in 29 games and 152 innings. She leads the league in ERA and opponents batting average (.200), is second in victories, and third in innings pitched and appearances. Her 82 strikeouts are fifth and she also had nine shutouts on the season.

Alabama Huntsville’s Stuedeman Named Coach of the Year

UAH’s Les Stuedeman is the GSC Coach of the Year for the second straight year, sixth time in seven years and ninth time in her career. The Chargers won their first eight games, are currently 39-7 overall, and went 23-6 in league play to earn the regular season crown and top seed in the upcoming GSC Tournament. UAH is currently the No. 2 team in the national poll and the top-ranked team in the South Region and Stuedeman is the GSC’s all-time winningest coach with 885 victories.

2014 ALL-GSC SOFTBALL FIRST TEAM

POS. NAME SCHOOL YEAR B/T HT HOMETOWN
P Hillary Carpenter UNA Fr. L/L 5-6 Hatton, Ala.
P Brianna Hancock VSU Sr. R/R 5-9 Warner Robbins, Ga.
P BreeAnna Blevins UNA Jr. R/R 5-5 Piedmont, Ala.
C Mary Kelley* UAH Sr. L/L 5-7 Mobile, Ala.
1B Anna Shartzer* UWA Sr. R/R 5-7 Gulf Shores, Ala.
2B Chelsea Canara VSU Fr. R/R 5-5 Milton, Ga.
2B Libby Olinger UNA Jr. R/R 5-7 Decatur, Ala.
SS Shelby Altman VSU Sr. R/R 5-8 Alma, Ga.
3B Nicole Yancey* UWG Sr. R/R 5-4 Carrollton, Ga.
DP Chloe Wolf UNA Jr. R/R 6-1 Oakville, Mo.
OF Courtney Albritton* VSU Jr. R/R 5-4 Sycamore, Ga.
OF Macie Couey UAH Sr. L/L 5-7 Milledgeville, Ga.
OF Caroline Kaston UWF Sr. L/L 5-5 Niceville, Fla.
P/DP Emily Glover UAH Fr. R/R 5-5 Scottsboro, Ala.
1B Kaitlin Moore DSU So. L/L 5-10 Southaven, Miss.
OF Rebecca Schick UWA Sr. R/R 5-7 New Orleans, La.
* Unanimous selection
Player of the Year— Courtney Albritton, Valdosta State
Pitcher of the Year— Hillary Carpenter, North Alabama
Freshman of the Year— Tyler Harrison, Alabama Huntsville
Coach of the Year— Les Stuedeman, Alabama Huntsville

2014 ALL-GSC SOFTBALL SECOND TEAM

POS. NAME SCHOOL YEAR B/T HT HOMETOWN
P Whitney Toler UAH Sr. R/R 5-8 Fayetteville, Ga.
P Kimberly Jack UAH So. R/R 5-10 Knoxville, Tenn.
1B Heather Crow UWG Sr. R/R 5-9 Villa Rica, Ga.
1B Tyler Harrison UAH Fr. L/L 5-8 Mobile, Ala.
2B Taylor Holland DSU Jr. R/R 5-8 Grenada, Miss.
SS Victoria Frith UAH Jr. L/R 5-4 Brookfield, Ill.
3B Kaitlyn Bannister UAH Fr. R/R 5-9 Albertville, Ala.
OF Mariah Alvarez DSU So. L/R 5-5 Saginaw, Texas.
OF Memrie Corley DSU So. S/R 5-7 Carrollton, Miss.
OF Kassidy Tally DSU So. L/R 5-8 Raleigh, Miss.
OF Shelby Goodman UNA Sr. R/R 5-3 Bolivar, Tenn.